Trying to give something back to the Community...
The first NoSQL (Not only SQL) developer day will take place at the University of Dundee on Saturday 20th November.
Come and join other developers and database professionals and learn more about this emerging technology area. Seven sessions across the day covering VoltDB, Hadoop and HBase, Windows Azure, Cassandra and Hector, CouchDB, RavenDB and a session on is NoSQL the future of data storage.
For more information/ to register goto:
http://developerdeveloperdeveloper.com/nosql1/
If you're seeing this issue then the following post from The Configuration Manager Support Team Blog should help:
We have seen couple of cases on this issue here in product support recently and since I didn't see the information documented on our site anywhere I thought it would be worth a mention here.
Issue:
The SMS Site Component Manager fails to install the SMS_MP_CONTROL_MANAGER component on a Windows Server 2008 based computer. The error is as follows:
The WebDAV server extension is either not installed or not configured properly. Solution: Make sure WebDAV is installed and enabled. Make sure there is an authoring rule that allow “All users” read access to “All content”. Make sure the WebDAV settings “Allow anonymous property queries” and “Allow property queries with infinite depth” are set to “true” and “Allow Custom Properties” is set to false.
If you go to the IIS management console, connect to the local server and open the “WebDAV Authoring Rules” option you will find everything enabled but it still doesn't seem to recognize it.
Cause:
This can occur if the settings for the WebDAV Authoring Rules become out of sync with the WebDAV_schema.xml file.
Resolution:
We need to go the location of the configuration file of Webdav which isC:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\schema\WebDAV_schema.xml. After opening this file you may notice that the settings in this file were different from the settings that were configured in the IIS Manager. The settings were configured as:
<attribute name=”allowAnonymousPropfind” type=”bool” defaultValue=”false” /> <attribute name=”allowInfinitePropfindDepth” type=”bool” defaultValue=”false” /> <attribute name=”allowCustomProperties” type=”bool” defaultValue=”true” />
However they should be:
<attribute name=”allowAnonymousPropfind” type=”bool” defaultValue=”true” /> <attribute name=”allowInfinitePropfindDepth” type=”bool” defaultValue=”true” /> <attribute name=”allowCustomProperties” type=”bool” defaultValue=”false” />
After correcting these settings (remember we have to take ownership of the file to be able to change it) and restarting the World Wide Web Publishing Service and theSMS_SITE_COMPONENT_MANAGER the Management Point should install correctly. You can check if the installation is successful in the log file MPSetup.log in your SCCM\Logs directory. If successful the log should have entries similar to this:
<04-01-2010 13:15:58> ======== Completed Installion of Pre Reqs for Role SMSMP ======== <04-01-2010 13:15:58> Installing the SMSMP <04-01-2010 13:15:58> Passed OS version check. <04-01-2010 13:15:58> IIS Service is installed. <04-01-2010 13:15:58> checking WebDAV configuraitons <04-01-2010 13:15:58> WebDAV is configured <04-01-2010 13:15:58> No versions of SMSMP are installed. Installing new SMSMP. <04-01-2010 13:15:58> Enabling MSI logging. mp.msi will log to E:\SCCM\logs\mpMSI.log <04-01-2010 13:15:58> Installing E:\SCCM\bin\i386\mp.msi CCMINSTALLDIR="E:\SMS_CCM" CCMSERVERDATAROOT="E:\SCCM" USESMSPORTS=TRUE SMSPORTS=80 USESMSSSLPORTS=TRUE SMSSSLPORTS=443 USESMSSSL=TRUE SMSSSLSTATE=0 CCMENABLELOGGING=TRUE CCMLOGLEVEL=1 CCMLOGMAXSIZE=1000000 CCMLOGMAXHISTORY=1 <04-01-2010 13:16:32> mp.msi exited with return code: 0 <04-01-2010 13:16:32> Verifying CCM_CLIENT virtual directory. <04-01-2010 13:16:32> Website path is IIS://LocalHost/W3SVC/1. <04-01-2010 13:16:32> Connecting to IIS. <04-01-2010 13:16:32> CCM_CLIENT is currently E:\SCCM\Client. <04-01-2010 13:16:32> Installation was successful.
Note: As you do any time you modify an XML file, please make a backup of WebDAV_schema.xml before making changes to it.
As an alternative resolution you can also run the following commands:
C:\Windows\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe set config "Default Web Site/" /section:system.webServer/webdav/authoring /enabled:true /commit:apphost
C:\Windows\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe set config "Default Web Site/" /section:system.webServer/webdav/authoringRules /allowNonMimeMapFiles:true /commit:apphost
C:\Windows\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe set config "Default Web Site/" /section:system.webServer/webdav/authoringRules /+[users='*',path='*',access='Read'] /commit:apphost
C:\Windows\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe set config "Default Web Site/" /section:system.webServer/webdav/authoring /fileSystem.allowHiddenFiles:true /properties.allowAnonymousPropfind:true /properties.allowInfinitePropfindDepth:true /properties.allowCustomProperties:false /commit:apphost
Then just restart the World Wide Web Publishing Service and theSMS_SITE_COMPONENT_MANAGER and the Management Point should install correctly.
Hope this helps!
Ankur Srivastava
Source:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/configurationmgr/archive/2010/10/26/error-the-webdav-server-extension-is-either-not-installed-or-not-configured-properly-in-configuration-manager-2007.aspx
So today's the day if you've been waiting for Office 2011 for Mac to ship. I've was lucky enough to get on the beta and I've been using it pretty much daily. I've not had any issues in sharing documents and files with users on the PC versions of Office although I did find a couple of bugs during the beta which were duly reported through Connect. There are also some "features" shall we say that differ from Office for PC (and having been a user of Word since 2.0 there have been a few teeth gnashing moments but nothing too major).
If you want more information check out the following post from the Office for Mac Blog:
http://blog.officeformac.com/?p=435
To try and cater for the demand we've managed to double the capacity for our event next Monday at Microsoft's offices in Cardinal Place, London.
So if you'd thought you'd missed out you haven't. For full details of the event and to register goto:
http://wmug.co.uk/groups/wmug_event_content/pages/wmug-event-1st-november-2010.aspx
I've just stumbled across the following post on the Microsoft Press blog that summarises the various free eBooks you can download. The "Deploying Windows 7" ebook contains information on deploying Windows 7 with MDT and also includes a bunch of articles from TechNet Magazine:
After the release of Moving to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 in September, here’s an updated list of some of our free ebooks:
Free ebook: Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (10 chapters by Ross Mistry and Stacia Misner)
Free ebook: Programming Windows Phone 7 Series (DRAFT Preview) (6 chapters by Charles Petzold)
Free ebook: Petzold’s Programming Windows Phone 7 (Special Excerpt 2) (newer than the ebook above; 11 chapters by Charles Petzold)
Free ebook: Own Your Future: Update Your Skills with Resources and Career Ideas from Microsoft (8 chapters by Katherine Murray)
Free ebook: Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions (Second Edition) (6 chapters by Mitch Tulloch)
Free ebook: First Look Microsoft Office 2010 (14 chapters by Katherine Murray)
Free ebook: Windows 7 troubleshooting tips (short ebook by Mitch Tulloch)
Free ebook: Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2 (9 chapters by Charlie Russel and Craig Zacker)
Free ebook: Deploying Windows 7, Essential Guidance (10 chapters from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and 6 TechNet articles)
We hope there’s something in this list for you to use and enjoy.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2010/10/08/even-more-updated-summary-of-our-ebook-giveaways.aspx
The latest version of Microsoft Messenger for Mac (v8) is now available from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=14b79079-f247-494a-a383-2f4ec1ba965c&displayLang=en
Find out how Microsoft IT monitor their boundaries from the following post from the Configuration Manager in Microsoft IT blog:
At Microsoft IT, we have implemented lot of custom monitoring for ConfigMgr service and I am starting this new series to share some of the custom monitoring implemented in production which helps in identifying problems proactively. However our primary means for monitoring ConfigMgr servers is through ConfigMgr Management pack which was discussed in one of the previous blog here -http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shitanshu/archive/2009/11/15/best-practices-for-deploying-configmgr07-management-pack.aspx
In this post I am covering monitoring scenarios to alert for missing AD site which are not configured as ConfigMgr boundaries and creating event for OpsMgr. In Microsoft IT, we have large environment which makes challenging to keep track of all changes in AD and keeping align ConfigMgr site boundaries with AD site which impact our reach and compliance SLA. This AD site boundary script proactively checks AD site against site boundaries configured in ConfigMgr database and reports any AD site which are not configured as site boundary through OpsMgr alert.
The AD Site Script is designed to be ‘automated’ from a scheduled task. Once invoked, the script will connect to the root of the data directory tree in the AD forest and iterate through all listed AD Sites. For each AD site found, it will then connect to the ConfigMgr central site server’s SQL database (specified within the script as highlighted in yellow) to validate that a matching site is found within the database.
If a match is found in the ConfigMgr SQL DB, then the AD Site Script will log an Information event to the local server’s Application Log. This event is purely for additional information and can be ignored from a SCOM perspective. (An informational event will only be logged if bVerbose is set to true, the default value is false).
If no matching AD site entry is found in the central site’s database, the AD Site Script will log a Warning event to the local machine’s Application Log. This event can be tracked\monitored by SCOM.
Note: The script will need elevated permissions as it will write log entries to the local server’s Application Log in the Event viewer and is configured as scheduled task on our ConfigMgr Central site.
Before we talk about the script I want to mention the original author of this script - Ben Shy who helped us writing this custom monitoring script for fixing gaps in ConfigMgr Boundaries for sites. Special Thanks to him.
' ----------------------------------------------------
' FileName: ADSiteScriot.vbs
Description: Querys Active Directory for all sites created that do not have a match
' in ConfigMgr and writes an event to the Application EventLog of type Warning
On Error Resume Next
Dim WinDir, objRootDSE, strConfigurationNC, strMsg, bVerbose
Dim strSitesContainer, objSitesContainer, objSite, SiteName
Dim strExcludeSites, strConfigMgrSQL, strConfigMgrDB
Dim arLabSubnets
Dim wsh : set wsh = Wscript.CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
WinDir = Wsh.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%WinDir%") & "\"
'Configurable option(s)
'Will set the verbosity of the script.
bVerbose = False
'ConfigMgr Central Site Server name and database name
strConfigMgrSQL = "SMSCentralSite"
strConfigMgrDB = "SMS_CS1"
' a semi-colon-deliminited list of lab or datacenter AD sites to exclude from the search (e.g. exclusion list)
strExcludeSites = "US-TST-DC1;US-TST-DC2"
' populate array
arLabSubnets = split(strExcludeSites, ";")
'Connect to the Sites Container
Set objRootDSE = GetObject("LDAP://RootDSE")
If objRootDSE is nothing Then
WriteEventLog "Could not connect to AD - Script is quitting with 1000", 1000, "Error"
Wscript.Quit 1000
End If
strConfigurationNC = objRootDSE.Get("configurationNamingContext")
strSitesContainer = "LDAP://cn=Sites," & strConfigurationNC
Set objSitesContainer = GetObject(strSitesContainer)
objSitesContainer.Filter = Array("site")
'Enumerate through the AD sites container looking for an AD sites that do not have a corresponding match in ConfigMgr DB.
'Log a warning to the local machines Event Viewer if site is found without a match in CM DB
For Each objSite In objSitesContainer
CheckCMDB()
Next
'This function will handle the ConfigMgr database connection, data parsing and exclusion list handling.
Function CheckCMDB()
Dim objCN, strConnection, strSQLQuery, objRS
Set objCN = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
strConnection = "Provider=SQLOLEDB;Data Source="& strConfigMgrSQL &";Initial Catalog="& strConfigMgrDB &";Integrated Security=SSPI;"
objCN.Open strConnection
strSQLQuery = "select distinct ADSiteName from dbo.v_SiteRoamingBoundary_ADSite"
' tracks if we found the site in the list
Dim bFoundSite, bMatchesSite
bMatchesSite = false
bFoundSite = false
objRS=CreateObject("ADODB.Recordset")
Set objRS = objCN.Execute(strSQLQuery)
Do Until objRS.EOF
' check if its not in the "exclusion list" array.
' if its not here, then continue on to find a match
if CheckExclusionListForSite (objSite.cn) = false Then
bFoundSite = true
If objRS.Fields("ADSiteName") = objSite.cn Then
bMatchesSite = true
End if
objRS.MoveNext
Loop
' did we find it?
If bFoundSite Then
If bMatchesSite Then
If bVerbose =True Then
strMsg = "Found an AD Site --(" & objSite.cn & ")-- with description (" & objSite.description & ")-- is in the ConfigMgr SiteRoamingBoundary_ADSite list"
'Only un-comment the section directly below if a VERBOSE event’ing is wanted
WriteEventLog strMsg, 880, "Information"
Else
strMsg = "Found an AD Site --(" & objSite.cn & ")-- with description (" & objSite.description & ")-- is NOT in the ConfigMgr SiteRoamingBoundary_ADSite list"
WriteEventLog strMsg, 887, "Warning"
'Close SQL Connections to ConfigMgr DB
objRS.Close
objCN.Close
End Function
' ---------------------------
' writes to event log
' msg: the message written to eventlog
' eventID: the eventID that is written
' eventType: the type of event ("Information", "Warning", "Error")
Sub WriteEventLog( msg, eventID, eventType )
Wsh.run "cmd.exe /c " & WinDir & "\System32\eventcreate.exe /T " & eventType & " /ID " & eventID & " /L Application /SO ADSiteScript /d """ & msg & "", 0, True
End Sub
' checks if the site name is in the excluded site name array
' strSiteName - the sitename to check if included in array
' :: returns true if the site name is found in array
' :: otherwise returns false
Function CheckExclusionListForSite( strSiteName )
CheckExclusionListForSite = false
dim i ' as int
for i=0 to UBound(arLabSubnets)
if ( lcase(arLabSubnets(i)) = lcase(strSiteName) ) Then
'found it
CheckExclusionListForSite = true
exit for
end if
next
The following denotes specific events that the script can generate locally in the server that it is executed from Event Viewer through scheduled task which can be monitored and alerted by OpsMgr.
Event when found an AD Site that is in ConfigMgr database (not enabled by default)
If the script finds an AD site that is also in ConfigMgr database, it’ll log the following informational event (only if bVerbose = True)
Event ID = 880
Level = Information
Example:
Log Name: Application
Source: ADSiteScript
Date: 10/25/2010 4:28:20 PM
Event ID: 880
Task Category: None
Level: Information
Keywords: Classic
User: SYSTEM
Computer: Testdomain.com
Description: Found an AD Site –(US-WA-SEA)-- with description (US-Washington Seattle)-- is in the ConfigMgr SiteRoamingBoundary_ADSite list
Event when found an AD site that is not in ConfigMgr database
If an AD site is found (which isn’t in the exclusion list) that is *not* in ConfigMgr database, the following will be logged to the event viewer.
Event ID = 887
Level = Warning
Date: 10/25/2010 1:04:36 PM
Event ID: 887
Level: Warning
Description: Found an AD Site –(US-WA-POR)-- with description (US-Washington Portland)-- is NOT in the ConfigMgr SiteRoamingBoundary_ADSite list. Client Count : 100
Please share your comments for these custom monitoring task and I would be glad to answer any queries.
What’s next for this custom monitoring series?
Custom monitoring for SUP/WSUS Scan failures
SQL Service Principle Names (SPNs), can cause all manner of grief with ConfigMgr if they're either not setup correctly or missing. The following post from The Configuration Manager Support Team Blog should set you on the straight and narrow if you're having SPN issues:
This blog post addresses a common problem customers face during the installation of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 in which the following error appears: “Setup failed to install SMS Provider.” When this error occurs, there are several possible causes, but the first thing I check is Service Principal Names or SPNs.
When setting up SQL Server for System Center Configuration Manager you can configure SQL services to use the local SYSTEM account or a domain user account. In either case, a Service Principal Name needs to be registered in Active Directory, but in the case where a domain user account is used for SQL Services, manual registration is typically required. It is important that the SPN be registered prior to installing SCCM, as the installation will fail.
This article will provide the steps required to register the SPN, but before covering that check out the symptoms of a SPN problem below.
One of the clearest indications that there is a problem with the SPN is during the SCCM installation.
For example, if the SQL SPN is not properly registered, and you choose to install the SMS Provider on the SCCM site server, the installation will fail during the installation of the SMS Provider. See the example below:
It is possible to bypass this error by choosing to install the SMS Provider on the SQL server which in an option during the SCCM installation, but it does not resolve the SPN problem after the fact.
For example, if you install the SMS Provider on the SQL server, and you have an SPN problem you may see the following errors:
In the SCCM console navigate to Site Database <Site Name> – Tools and right-click the ConfigMgr Service Manager and select Start ConfigMgr Service Manager.
If you receive the error “Error communicating with the specified ConfigMgr Site Server” there is definitely an issue.
Another symptom you will have is that multiple errors will show up in your SQL Server Logs.
On the SQL Server open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the instance in which you installed SCCM.
In the SQL console, navigate to Management – SQL Server Logs and right-click the Current log and select “View SQL Server Log”.
In the SQL server log you will see multiple errors similar to this:
03/06/2009 12:09:54,Logon,Unknown,Login failed for user 'NT AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON'. [CLIENT: 192.168.1.11]
Another place to look is SMSDBMON.log file on your SCCM server. You will see errors such as:
*** [28000][18456][Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server]Login failed for user 'NT AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON'. $$<SMS_DATABASE_NOTIFICATION_MONITOR> *** [28000][18456][Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server]Login failed for user 'NT AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON'. $$<SMS_DATABASE_NOTIFICATION_MONITOR
*** Failed to connect to the SQL Server. $$<SMS_DATABASE_NOTIFICATION_MONITOR> CTriggerManager::Init - unable to get SQL connection $$<SMS_DATABASE_NOTIFICATION_MONITOR>
NOTE: In cases where SQL reports NT AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON failures, it is typically due to SPN or Kerberos issues.
To properly register a Service Principal Name for SQL you need two pieces of information:
· Which account is SQL running under?
· What port is SQL running under?
In the case where the SQL service is configured to run as SYSTEM, it is likely that you don’t have an SPN issue, but in some cases the SCCM administrator may not know what account SQL is running under.
To check what account SQL services are running under:
1. Logon to the SQL server and open Start – All Programs – Microsoft SQL Server 20xx –Configuration Tools and select SQL Server Configuration Manager.
2. In SQL Server Configuration Manager – Select the SQL Server Services node.
3. In the Details pane, right-click the SQL Server (Instance) name and in the context menu, selectProperties.
4. In the SQL Server (instance) Properties dialog, within the Log On tab, if “This account” is selected, then it is likely that a domain user account is listed. Note the domain user account listed in the Account Name field.
5. If the “Built-in account” option is selected, then typically “Local System” is selected and an SPN may already be registered.
2. In SQL Server Configuration Manager – Select the SQL Server Network Configuration node and select the sub-node Protocols for <SQLInstance>
3. In the details pane, select TCP/IP and select Properties.
4. At the TCP/IP Propertied dialog, select the IP Addresses tab and scroll down to the IPAll section. The value of TCP Port is the port number SQL is running under.
Important Note:
If SQL is configured to use the default instance, the port should be statically defined as port 1433.
If using a SQL named instance, the port should be listed as “TCP Dynamic Ports” and will change every time SQL is restarted. This can pose a problem when registering an SPN as the port will change.
How to you check whether an SPN is registered? There are two tools you can use to check and list Service Principal Name.
Setpn.exe or ADSIedit.
This utility is installed natively in Windows Server 2008, but if running Server 2003 you have to install the Server 2003 SP1 Support Tools. A link to the Server 2003 SP1 Support Tools download can be found within this page.
If using the Local SYSTEM account for for SQL, you can use the following command to check SPNs against the server.
setspn –l MSSQLSvc/<SQLSERVERNAME>
If using a domain user account for SQL, you can use the following command to check SPNs against the server.
setspn –l domain\useraccount
This utility not installed natively in Windows Server 2008. You can install it by opening Server Manager, select and then right-click Features and click Add Features. Select Remote Server Administration Tools – Role Administration Tools – Active Directory Domain Services Tools and check Active Directory Domain Controller Tools.
Complete the Add Features Wizard.
If running Server 2003, you will need to install but if running Server 2003 you have to install the Server 2003 SP1 Support Tools. A link to the Server 2003 SP1 Support Tools download can be found within this page.
To check SPNs, open Adsiedit.msc and right-click the ADSI Edit node and select “Connect to…”
At the Connection Settings dialog, click OK.
· If using the Local SYSTEM account, navigate and select the OU which contains the SQL computer account and in the details pane, right-click the computer account and select Properties.
· If using a domain user account for SQL, navigate and select the OU which contains the domain user account and in the details pane, right-click the user account and select Properties.
In the Properties dialog, scroll down to the Service Principal Name attribute. You can select theEdit button to review the list of Service Principal Names registered against the account.
The following SPNs need to be registered for Configuration Manager to function:
MSSQLSvc/servername:port
MSSQLSvc/servername.domain.com:port
Where servername is the NETBIOS name of the SQL server, and servername.domain.com is the FQDN of the SQL Server. Port is the port number which SQL is using.
Example: MSSQLSvc/SQLServer.domain.com:1433
If using Local System for SQL Services, just check to make sure the SPN is registered. It is unlikely you will need to change anything because the computer account usually has enough permissions to update its own SPN.
If using a Domain User Account for SQL Services, and SQL is installed using the Default instance and the port is 1433 run the following SetSPN.exe command:
setspn.exe –A MSSQLSvc/servername:1433 domain\sqlserviceaccount
setspn.exe –A MSSQLSvc/servername.domain.com:1433 domain\sqlserviceaccount
If using a Domain User Account for SQL Services, and SQL is installed using a Named instance and the port is set as Dynamic, you can use ADSIEdit to grant the user account permissions to update its own SPN. This is recommended.
1. Open ADSIEdit.msc and navigate and select the OU which contains the domain user account.
2. In the Details pane, select the domain user account and select Properties.
3. At the user account Properties dialog, select the Security tab.
4. Select the Advanced button.
5. At the Advanced Security Settings for <user> dialog, select the SELF account and select Edit.
6. At the Permission Entry for <user> properties, select the Properties tab.
7. Scroll down and verify that Allow is checked next to Read servicePrincipalName and Write servicePrincipalName is selected.
8. Click OK, OK and then OK to save the settings.
9. Restart the SQL Services, and you should be able to check the SPN against the domain user account and it should be updated.
Once the Service Principal Name is set, you may have to wait for domain synchronization to occur.
Restart the server which Configuration Manager 2007 is going to be installed on to clear Kerberos tickets.
If the above errors still persist, and you are certain the SPN was registered successfully, you may have a duplicate record in AD. You can check for duplicates by running this command:
ldifde –f C:\SPNCheck.txt -t 3268 -d "" -l servicePrincipalName -r "(servicePrincipalName=MSSQLSvc/servername*)" -p subtree
The MSSQLSvc/servername* portion of the above command should be edited to include the server name of your SQL server.
The command will return all SPNs with the string MSSQLSvc/servername* and write the results to the text file: C:\SPNCheck.txt.
Here is an example of a duplicate SPN in the results in the SPNCheck.txt file:
dn: CN=Administrator,CN=Users,DC=gb,DC=net changetype: add servicePrincipalName: MSSQLSvc/servername.domain.com:1433
dn: CN=s-sqladmin,OU=Admin,DC=gb,DC=net changetype: add servicePrincipalName: MSSQLSvc/servername.domain.com:1433
As you can see, the same SPN is registered against the domain\Administrator and the s-sqladmin accounts.
This is a duplicate as the SPN registered against the Administrator account is no longer needed.
To delete the incorrect SPN run the command:
setspn.exe –D MSSQLSvc/servername.domain.com:1433 domain\administrator
I hope that this blog entry was helpful. If there is something missing, please comment.
Here are some links to Microsoft articles which may provide some background on the subject:
Systems Management Server 2003 Advanced Security Site with Remote SQL Does Not Connect to SQL Server
Security Account Delegation
Gerry Borger | Senior System Center Support Engineer
http://blogs.technet.com/b/configurationmgr/archive/2010/10/26/troubleshooting-duplicate-or-missing-spns-for-a-configmgr-2007-sql-database.aspx
Following on from his post about the hardware used to run ConfigMgr internally by Microsoft IT, Shitanshu now follows it up with the following post from the Configuration Manager in Microsoft IT blog which details the Client Agent settings MS IT use:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shitanshu/archive/2010/10/24/configmgr-client-agent-settings-in-microsoft.aspx
In case you missed Microsoft has released a new 2011 version of Windows Live Essentials which you can download from here.
All of the old favourites are there (Messenger, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, etc.), and most importantly for me the new version of Live Writer which is my blogging tool of choice.
The following post from the Configuration Manager in Microsoft IT blog details the hardware specs for the various ConfigMgr Site Roles used internally by Microsoft IT and it makes for very interesting reading:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shitanshu/archive/2010/10/22/configmgr-site-role-hardware-used-in-microsoft-it.aspx
Name the release dates of all versions of SMS and ConfigMgr INCLUDING Service Packs?
Struggling? Not got time for Google/ Bing? Well check out the following post on the Configuration Manager in Microsoft IT blog as Shitanshu has done all the hard work for us:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shitanshu/archive/2010/10/23/sms-configmgr-release-milestones.aspx
Wondering how you do this? Well the following post from The Configuration Manager Support Team Blog reveals all:
One of the components of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (SCCM 2007) Operating System Deployment (OSD) is boot images. Boot images in SCCM are really just WinPE images and are used during the operating system deployment process to boot computers so that an operating system can be loaded.
For more information about boot images and WinPE, see the following links:
What is Windows PE?
Planning for the Boot Image
Typically, the standard boot images included in SCCM will provide enough functionality needed to deploy an Operating System, (outside of possibly adding drivers). In some cases, it may be required for administrators to have a script or a command run when the boot image boots and WinPE is started. As an example, one customer, due to specific network restrictions, had to run a command when WinPE started so that a specific route could be added in order for the client to reach the server. The customer created a batch file to run the command and configured WinPE to execute it at every start time, before WinPE started the task sequencing process.
Out of the box, it is not very straightforward to add such customizations to your boot images, so the purpose of this article is to provide information on how to add a batch file or command so that it is executed when your boot image starts.
As a note, there was an article provided in TechNet which describes the process of modifying WinPE to add a script or batch file so that it would be executed when WinPE started. Unfortunately, in SCCM, when boot images are updated so that drivers can be injected or settings are modified, the update process is automated so there isn’t an opportunity to make other customizations. The article I am referring to is http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766521(WS.10).aspx, which provides three ways to add a command to WinPE. The first two methods, using Winpeshl.ini, or Startnet.cmd, don’t work in SCCM. The third method, creating an unattend.xml, will work fine.
This article describes how to create an unattend.xml so that specific commands or scripts can be executed every time your WinPE boot image starts.
The first thing you need to do is figure out if you need to run a command, batch file, or vbScript prior to WinPE executing. The unttend.xml is command based, and you can add multiple commands ordered in any way you like. If you have more than one command you want to run you can certainly add those to a batch file.
If you are going to reference a batch file create the file and copy it to the SCCM Site Server at:C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools. In this example, I will name the batch file PrePE.cmd.
The easiest way to create an unattend.xml from scratch is to use System Image Manager. After you create your initial unattend.xml for use in this process, you may decide to edit the XML using notepad. Regardless, the below instructions will describe how to use Windows System Image Manager (SIM) to create an unattend.xml so that WinPE will execute a command or the PrePE.cmd file at WinPE startup.
1. Logon to your SCCM SP2 site server as the Windows System Image Manager utility will already be installed. Note: The reason it is already installed is because (SIM) is included in the WAIK which is installed with SCCM.
2. Open SIM by selecting Start – Programs - Microsoft Windows AIK – Windows System Image Manager.
3. In the SIM select File – Select Windows Image.
4. At the Select a Windows Image dialog, browse to the extracted contents of your Windows 7 DVD\Sources folder and select install_Windows 7 ULTIMATE.clg (Enterprise) and then click Open.
5. One an image catalog is selected, create a new answer file by selecting File – New Answer File.
6. Under the Windows Image section in the SIM, navigate to Components and right-clickx86_Microsoft-Setup_6.1.x_neutral and in the context menu select Add Setting to Pass 1 windowsPE.
7. Now in the Answer File section of the SIM, you will see the component under windowsPE. Selectx86_Microsoft-Windows-Setup_neutral and in the Properties pane, change the Enable Firewallvalue to True.
8. Right-click the RunSynchronous section and in the context menu, select Insert New RunSynchronousCommand. In the Properties section, verify the following Properties are set.
Action: AddListItem Description: Executes the PrePE.cmd Order: 1 Path: PrePE.cmd
9. Once all the Properties are added you can delete all of the sub-components which were not edited.
10. To save the answer file select File – Save Answer File As and save the file under C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools as unattend.xml.
11. If you open the XML in notepad you can make modifications.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend"> <settings pass="windowsPE"> <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"> <RunSynchronous> <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add"> <Description>Executes the PrePE.cmd</Description> <Order>1</Order> <Path>PrePE.cmd</Path> </RunSynchronousCommand> </RunSynchronous> <EnableNetwork>true</EnableNetwork> </component> </settings> <cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="catalog://labcm1/osdeploy/ossource/windows7x86/sources/install_windows 7 ultimate.clg" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" /> </unattend>
The following technique is an easy way to add files to your boot images without having to mount and unmount your boot.WIMs. For background purposes, every time you select “Update Distribution Points” for you boot images in SCCM, the boot image is mounted, files are injected, unmounted, and distribution points are updated. One of the files SCCM uses to identify files to add is the osdinjection.xml. You can edit this file to reference custom files you want included in your boot image.
1. On your SCCM site server, navigate to <SCCM Installation Folder>\bin\i386.
2. Make a backup copy of the file osdinjection.xml.
3. Edit the original osdinjection.xml in Notepad and under the following section:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <InjectionFiles> <Architecture imgArch="i386"> <FileList source="WAIK">
Add the following:
<File name="unattend.xml"> <LocaleNeeded>false</LocaleNeeded> <Source>tools</Source> <Destination>windows\system32</Destination> </File> <File name="prePE.cmd"> <LocaleNeeded>false</LocaleNeeded> <Source>tools</Source> <Destination>windows\system32</Destination> </File>
Here is a sample:
4. As you can see, the two files we added to C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools,unattend.xml and PrePE.cmd are referenced, and will be copied to the Windows\System32 folder in WinPE.
5. So that the files are also executed in the 64-bit boot image, find the section:
<Architecture imgArch="x64"> <FileList source="WAIK">
6. Save the osdinjection.xml file.
7. In Configuration Manager 2007, navigate to Site Database / Computer Management / Operating System Deployment / Boot Images and right-click your boot image and select“Update Distribution Points”. The boot images will be recompiled and sent to distribution points.
You can test the boot image right away if you are using PXE Boot or use the Create Task Sequence Media and create boot media. The next time the boot image boots, the batch file PrePE.cmd will run prior to the Task Sequence engine kicks off.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/configurationmgr/archive/2010/10/21/osd-how-to-add-a-script-to-a-configmgr-2007-boot-image.aspx
The Management Platforms and Service Delivery (MPSD), within Microsoft are currently recruiting for the following positions:
ConfigMgr Client Health Engineer / Senior Service Engineer –https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=2&jid=24137&jlang=ENAutomation Engineer / Senior Service Engineer – https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=7&jid=24055&jlang=ENProduction Support Analyst / Service Ops 2 – https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=6&jid=23578&jlang=ENSenior Service Engineer – Application Management -https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=1&jid=24054&jlang=ENConfigMgr Senior Service Engineer - https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=3&jid=24056&jlang=ENSenior Service Engineer – OSD - https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=1&jid=24314&jlang=EN
You can find out details from the following post taken from the Configuration Manager in Microsoft IT blog:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shitanshu/archive/2010/10/18/configmgr-service-ops-and-engineering-positions.aspx